Wooster Park
Freeman Avenue, Stratford, Fairfield County, Connecticut

Directions:

Merritt Parkway north to exit 51; turn right onto Route 108/Nichols Avenue; pass by Connors Lane to make a left turn onto Quail Street; park by the guard rail by the bridge over the stream.  (The trail starts here.)  Or turn right onto Freeman Avenue and park along the road.

Trails:

11/29/2005.  On a cool morning, Ceferino, dog Sonar and I walked the woods trail in the western part of the park. 

The park is composed of two very different areas.  The natural area is on the west side of the pond and stream.  Green lawn and a playground dominate the east side of the park.  We we not interested in the east side.  So we stuck to the natural area on the west side. 

The trail is broad and heads almost straight south to the Wooster Middle School (which takes up about a third of more of the park). There are around four or more side paths on the right side of the trail.  Some just peter out while others head over to the private housing area.  We walked down to the dam and found our way blocked by the school property.  So we turned right onto a path that after awhile petered out in the middle of the woods.  We bushwhacked back to the main trail.  Closer to our car we turned left onto a path that leads to a clearing.  Paths encircle this clearing.  In these predominantly oak woods, there are quite a lot of young sassafras trees sprouting up. 

We followed the path until we came to a residential road and then turned around to return to the clearing.  On the north side of the clearing, some over-feeder filled the path with bread, bagels, pretzels and other bread stuffs for the birds.  They also have spread lots of wild bird seed.

We returned to the main trail, turned left and walked out of the park.  Dr. Patrick L. Cooney.

PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney, * = plant blooming on date of field trip,  11/29/2005

Trees:
Acer platanoides (Norway maple)
Acer rubrum (red maple)
Acer saccharum (sugar maple))
Ailanthus altissima (tree of heaven)
Betula alleghaniensis (black birch)
Betula lenta (black birch)
Betula populifolia (gray birch)
Carya tomentosa (mockernut hickory)
Fagus grandifolia (American beech)
Fraxinus americana (white ash)
Nyssa sylvatica (tupelo)
Pinus strobus (white pine)
Populus grandidentata (big-toothed aspen)
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Quercus alba (white oak)
Quercus palustris (pin oak)
Quercus rubra (red oak)
Quercus velutina (black oak)
Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust)
Sassafras albidum (sassafras)

Shrubs:
Alnus serrulata (smooth alder)
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry)
Clethra alnifolia (sweet pepper bush)
Cornus amomum (swamp dogwood)
Euonymus alatus (winged euonymus)
Myrica pensylvanica (bayberry)
Rhus glabra (smooth sumac)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rubus flagellaris (northern dewberry)
Rubus occidentalis (black raspberry)
Rubus sp. (blackberry)
Sambucus canadensis (common elderberry)
Viburnum dentatum (arrowwood viburnum)

Vines:
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Lonicera japonica (Japanese honeysuckle)
Smilax rotundifolia (round-leaved greenbrier)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)

Herbs:
Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort)
Aster spp. (aster)
Chelidonium majus (celandine)
Chenopodium album (pigweed)
Epilobium sp. (willowherb)
Phytolacca americana (pokeweed)
Polygonum cuspidatum (Japanese knotweed)
Rumex obtusifolius (broad dock)
Solanum dulcamara (bittersweet nightshade)
Solidago spp. (goldenrod)
Taraxacum officinale (common dandelion)   
Trifolium pratense (red clover)

Rushes:
Juncus tenuis (path rush)

Grasses:
Panicum clandestinum (deer-tongue grass)
Panicum virgatum (switch grass)
Phragmites australis (giant reed grass)
Schizachyrium scoparium (little blue stem grass)
 

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